This weekend I went out in search for Bestine on the recommendation of FrankNscale.

While I didn't find Bestine, I browsed the cleaners and spotted Goo Gone and De-Solv-It Citrus.

De-Solve-It was more expensive (~9 bucks), but the label says it specifically removes wax, among others. As I was on a budget I saved this product for my next go.

Goo Gone was 3 bucks, so I picked one up.

The process took just minutes and resulted in perfectly clean, wax free model (with no discoloration/whitening), ready for paint. I'm surprised that Goo Gone has not been discussed before.

1. Rinse and brush away any large blobs of wax.
2. Using a toothbrush that has been sitting in hot water (which softens it's bristles), dip the brush and FUD part in Goo Gone and lightly scrub all surfaces 2-3 times. Rinse/swash the brush every so often to remove the removed wax so you don't just spread it around. Re-dip the brush in Goo Gone and continue.
3.Quickly rinse and brush again in warm-soapy water.

I have a suggestion that might work well to break up chunky bits on some pieces: Dental floss. I was about to consider using some on my pendants when I realised it could be used on models like the mini rubiks cube.

Enjoys spending 98 hours a week learning, making and designing stuff. The picture of me as a kid is... pretty much what you're dealing with.

I expecting a FUD part pretty soon that consists of a grid with 0,4mm thickness and 8mm between the sections, first this model was rejected due to that it probably would warp at cleaning, but I might get it anyway since I would take the risk of warping and I was wondering what's the best way to clean such a structure, I have read this entire thread and there's many options to choose from but since my model is an open grid i guess leaving it in a hot space would cause the wax to melt and escape the grid, but I haven't ordered any FUD before so maybe it's not as easy as i imagine?

If you live in the US and have a Michael's Hobby store nearby, Bestine is great for cleaning FUD

I'm in Denmark :S I haven't heard about Bestine, but what's the ingredients? Maybe they something similar here, but I think the biggest challenge is that I'll have 1 try only for this so the method needs to really work the first time.

Thank you for the hint!
I have searched for Bestine and can see it's not really available to me over here. But is the product so good that I should order something or, based on my explanation, would other methods be just as good for removing wax from such a grid structure?

I've read through most of those, and tried most. I have not read through all of these suggestions so maybe this method has already been mentioned.
I have minor success with chemicals because of the nature of my model,
Finally I took the figure and placed it on a couple of paper napkins and went over it with a hair dryer. You don't have to get it too hot for the wax to start flowing, just move the hair dryer over the piece back and forth and in no time the wax perculates out of the holes in the model.
Then clean off the residue which has deposited itself on the outer surface with the solvent of your choice and a cloth applicator that sheds no lent.
I use an old piece of linen cut up.
I found it also helps to clamp the napkins down to keep them from getting blown all around by the hair dryer.
Sorry if this method has already been mentioned.
This is a transparent view of the figure to give you some idea of the amount of wax I am talking about.
This particular figue has 2 holes. One 2 mm hole at the top of the head and one 1 mm hole at the bottom of the torso.

I have a model with mm scale encapsulated channels. I have had good success with the following method:

1) Heat the model up to 60°C to melt the wax.
2) Pressurize the channels with a syringe to push out the molten wax.
3) Push through toluene (a standard organic solvent), to clean away any wax residues.

The toluene doesn't seem to dissolve or discolor the plastic. I haven't tried painting the models, but I assume it works after the toluene has dried.

Just be sure to use adequate ventilation and be aware of the fire hazard when working with toluene (as always consult the Material Safety Data Sheet for any new materials, for example here:

Thanks, for the suggestions on heptane. I am in Sweden, so I am not sure I will find Bestine in stores here, but I will try to see if I can get hold of heptane in another form. It is of course preferable to use the least nasty chemical that will do the job.

I am working in a fumehood with the toluene, and that is definitely advisable.

i have found a very simple way for wax removal: compressed air.
i washed my last FUD-prints with some "nail polish remover" (without acetone) and then literally blown away the liquid with compresed air.
That works for me better than anything i tried before!

I've had about the same results with warm water and Spic n'Span soap, floor wax stripper, lacquer thinner, Bestine, and paint thinner. And all leave the tenacious frosty surface on parts which needs to be mechanically abraded away (which includes Grit Blasting, see the other thread here).

Due to the cruddy surface, I am loathe to offer any detail parts for public sale, ruining my plans to take over the world (drats!).

What really puzzles me is Shapeways' and 3D System's silence on this topic. Come on people, this is YOUR process, make some recommendations!

I think the only way to get a clear result is by molding and then casting in a vacuumed clear resin. Even if you successfully cleaned an item and got a clear result, it's always ging to be at risk down the road.

I have been getting better and better prints. I've also gotten better at removing the crusty frosting stuff. A couple of bathes in simple green,,, dry,,, bathe in alcohol,,, dry then finally use a tooth pick or a bamboo skewer and a little pressure to rub the crust off.
Before you make molds, you really need to get that crust off.
Here are some castings from most recent prints.

What I have found is that painting the crusty bits with a liquid styrene glue, such as polyweld or MEK/butanone using a stiff (hogs hair) brush will remove the crusts. My work flow is something like -- ultrasonic with lots of detergent -> dry -> paint with polyweld -> ultrasonic -> dry -> acrylic paint -> sand -> ultrasonic -> dry -> acrylic paint, and maybe repeat the last sand/paint cycle.

It looked like the days of a thick layer of wax were behind us, but in my last order I received one bag with my models almost clean and 10 minutes in White Spirit cleaned them up. But another bag with thick wax stuck to it. I am puzzled why two similar products, ordered at the same time, are so completely different in the amount of wax left on the products. I've tried white spirit, I've tried 6 minutes in 60 degrees C ultrasone bath and 10 minutes in an 70 degrees oven. No change at all. Any idea's?

Hello
I had the same problem with my parts. I used Bestine in the ultrasonic cleaner which cut the wax. What you are seeing looks like mine did
after a ultrasonic bath. But I now use an air eraser and baking soda and that process gets all that junk off the part. Harbor freight freight is where I got mine for $25.

So I do some baking soda sandblasting and my parts cleaned up just great.

@Mitchell: That is sorted, thank you. I just thought it wasn't worth a re-print and imagined I could get rid of it easily. But on my models I can't use a brush, as suggested several times in this thread. It has to come off by melting or rinsing, but didn't.

Interesting read, but I don't see myself going that far. It's wax, so it should be "meltable", isn't it? The right fluid in combination with the right temperature should be able to dissolve it, right? My model has walls and parts behind walls, with fine rods inside, so "blasting" it is not option.

I prefer to use a combination of heat and baking soda and some burnishing for mine. Last Friday I received a print that while not horrible, was not as good as the prints I have been receiving. The problem was with residue from the support material all over the face. Fortunately it is a 1:6 head and was not difficult to clean up quickly but I missed my window of opportunity to go to production at a relevant time due to shipping.
It shipped in record time, in fact 4 days after the order was placed, but UPS did not deliver it till 7 days after it was shipped. It just languished in some backwater warehouse in NY before actually being sent to me.
I wish Shapeways had an option to ship USPS. The United States Postal Service ships first class mail up to 13 oz for a couple of bucks and I have never seen them take more than 3 days to deliver a package from New York to California. UPS makes sure that your package is delivered the maximum number of days you pay for while the U.S. Post Office delivers all packages as soon as they can.